on our broadcast tonight, hurricane sandy, a history-making weather event coming to shore this evening and changing the map of the coastline in some portions. tonight, some portions of the east coast are under siege and getting pounds, new york city all but cut off, trains and bridges closed, while new yorkers deal with a badly damaged construction crane on top of the tallest building in the city. tonight, the city is under massive storm warnings, nbc news beg begins now. >> this is nbc nightly news. good evening, this powerful october storm will go down as

one of the most colossal weather events of its kind. ten states are are under a state of major, six million americans are affected. as we come on the air, if there is any good news, the storm has pushed quickly, landfall moved up, as predicted by hours, and hopefully that will mean less duration for those in the storm zone, because the storm has the power to alter the map of the jersey shore, for starters. sandy is so large, going across 15 states from flooding in massachusetts to rain reaching all the way from michigan. in new york, all eyes, as we said are on the drama of the massive construction crane, captured on video when it happened. getting blown over, now left swinging in the wind, on 57th street, picture this, the stock

exchange is closed, for the first time since 911, the routes into and out of the city are cut off. we have a lot of ground to cover here this evening, knowing close to a million potential viewers can't see us right now, as it is because of power outages, we want to start with our hurricane specialist at the weather channel. meteorologist brian norcross, we should be coming to it on top of atlantic city, right? it look is a little to the south, over new jersey, looks like it is over the coastline, you called it rit, this is a freakish storm in any number of ways, including the lowest central pressure ever recorded for a landfall storm. all right, let's look at the radar, i'll try to point out for you where the center is, the radar echo is kind of the lower end of landfall, there is cape may, ocean city, new jersey, right in there.

very, very strong winds right there coming in. but that is only one tiny little part of the vitamsystem, becaus there is the magnitude of it as it extends all the way upbringing near-hurricane force gusts into the boston area, and pushing water there into long island, where we have had three additional feet of water at the west end of long island, that is called king's point on the north side of long island. and the water is within a half a foot of a record there at the battery. and tn we have the flooding range here that will remind us of lee, tropical storm lee last year where we had tremendous flooding last year in the harrisburg air, and this will be point south. so the wind is like this here, that is the tropical system. this is the other system, the nor'easter system, one is imbedded in the other, this is pushing the water here and that way. so all of this storm surge is

yet building in the new york area and along the new england coast. so that is yet to come, along the new jersey shore. lo looks like a good total there, six to 11 feet around new york, and long island sound, a little less up there towards new england. and we have the hurricane-force wind warnings, all the way from cape cod up to virginia, it is near the shore, but we're nowhere near done with that. >> and sadly, high cycle tonight, that will be a problem for some. 70 miles an hour winds at jfk airport in new york, and 90 miles an hour gusts in south jersey, which brings us to chris kado, and chris we just learned this is in the process of making landfall on the p, just a spec south of your location. but i know you have a lot of water in atlantic city. >> reporter: yeah, just a few

miles south here, sandy is coming to shore. but in atlantic city itself, we're still getting hammered here, you can see i'm on the world famous boardwalk. the lights are still on, on the boardwalk and the casinos, although for only the fourth time in history the casinos are closed, losing 5 million a day, however, it is the potential of the loss of lives that people are worried about. there was a mandatory evacuation for the boardwalk, i should say put on sunday. most people heeded the warning, however, we're told by emergency management, however, about 400 people on the bay side of the area, remained in their homes trying to ride out the storm. we'll walk over here and show you what the city is dealing with. the streets are under several feet of water in many places, this is the access road we used to get up on the boardwalk. and 400 people, we're told, stayed in their homes and did

not evacuate. and rescue personnel have not been able to get to all of those people, we do not know how many they were able to rescue, but they pulled back the personnel as the situation became dangerous. so several hundred people trying to ride out the storms inside their homes. and we're told there is flooding in that area of the city. so certainly a situation that will be monitored tonight and throughout the morning. the governor said they will try to get somebody in to check on those people trapped in their homes. it looks like we're trapped on the boardwalk tonight as this water is not going anywhere any time soon. >> all right, chris kado, reporting for us from atlantic city, new jersey, let's go up to the central jersey shore. again, this storm is impacting in ways that will re-write history. just before his satellite truck signal went down we want to show you the last report we showed from correspondent ron allen on

point pleasant beach. >> reporter: good evening from point pleasant beach, where the sand dune is the only thing between the town and the sea, which is coming up closer and closer by the hour. waves are at least ten to eight feet, with winds at 70 miles an hour, rain falling sideways, the situation has gotten worse progressively as we - in the last hour or so it has really gotten worse. we have also been out in the town where there is severe flooding. police have the area sealed off. there is a mandatory evacuation order under effect. real concern here is that the inland lake and bay will flood, and connect to the ocean. and wipe out the entire town in this area. a similar story up and down the jersey coast. back to you. >> so again, that was ron allen, point pleasant beach. and as you look at that recorded the last time we had contact, we

know the crew is safe and sheltered inside the satellite truck. that was give or take, 90 minutes ago, it is now worse there, because the storm in chief is moving onshore, and the 8:00 eastern time high tide which is just going to mean bad news up and down the coast. as i mentioned, there is a drama playing out in mid-manhattan. rehema ellis is covering that story for us. has to do with what is going to be the tallest apartment building in all of new york city, a crane on top of the building that has been visible for miles that toppled late today and is just hanging above 57th street, rehema? >> reporter: brian this is a dangerous situation. police have created a collapse zone, no cars or pedestrians around the area, 57th street, where this building is under construction and this crane is now dangerously dangling over the street. they have also evacuated the apartment complex, the businesses, even the hotel, the

guests have been moved to other places. authorities are going to try to get engineers up into this construction site to see if they can secure this dangling crane. but with the wind s gusting the way they are, nobody is sure they can do that i should tell you at 2 p.m. eastern time when they got the report, the national weather service said the winds were gusting at 40 miles an hour. theayor of new york city, mike bloomberg said we expect wind gusts upwards to 70, 80, 90 miles an hour tonight. whether they can secure that crane under those type of conditions, nobody knows for sure. we talked to a man who was passing on 57th street when the crane collapsed with his wife. and he said it sounded like a giant sealed door slamming shut. they saw pieces of large metal on the ground. and they were not sure what it was until they got back to the hotel and realized they had escaped a serious accident. brian?

>> and of course, rehema, the crane itself is probably ten stories in length and weighs a lot and could become an air borne missile if it becomes detached. >> reporter: absolutely, and the winds are much more gusty than they were a couple of hours ago. and that is just what authorities are concerned about. if it collapses it could sway into another building and slam into an apartment building. and who knows what would happen then or if it was to slam on the ground. so again, this is a collapse zone, no cars, no pedestrian. >> rehema ellis in mid-town, hat ha -- manhattan, this is supposed to be the tallest apartment building in that part of the country. and in lower manhattan, not far from ground zero, this has been the main point of a lot of attention because of the water that in the last go-around, hurricane irene came up to and over the lip of the seawall

there, jim cantore has staked out the ground there. jim, we have been following your progress and that of the water lev levels all day. reporter: well, brian, the storm surge, the water rise, the level is 6.6, 2.2 higher than irene. so we're waiting for the high tide to come up. for example, irene was about here. all right? and what we could see is another two and a half, three feet here, major implications, if the water gets into the lower streets of manhattan, and also the subway system. and con-ed has the power to shut it down, and the mayor has to coordinate with the mta, the cross bay, the veteran's memorial bridge, the george washington bridge, just to name a few. they're huge bridges with

massive traffic. and of course that was the only way to get around. it was either by car or cab. they were going to keep the bayonne, the 70 miles an hour wind gusts were anticipated to come up this evening through the midnight hour. now, they could choose to open it tomorrow if the winds die down, which certainly they may do. the power losses, approximately a million-plus in 11 states, and that number, brian, i'm afraid is only going to go up. >> all right, jim cantore, southern tip of manhattan, jim, we may check back with you there. and about this power information in the city, as of 5:00 today, con-ed, the power company reported more than 70,000 people in the area were without power, not counting the suburbs where it is closer to 3 million already. the big decision, as jim mentioned, is still to come.

nbc's harry smith got in with a camera crew today, where the con-ed executives were facing what was for them an unprecedented decision. >> reporter: what are you anticipating having to do later on this evening? >> the big question is going to happen at about 8:00 tonight, when we're going to have to make a decision of whether to shut down the financial center of manhatta >> reporter: and what would that be predicated on? >> the water level, tide, we show back there it is forecasted to be somewhere between 11-12 peak. and that would be the highest tide the city has ever seen. >> and that is exactly what jim cantore was talking about. if that happens, if water throws into power systems underground, there goes wall street, it is already supposed to be closed tomorrow. we could be looking worst case at the rest of the week for the beating financial heart of the united states. and certainly, lower manhattan. we want to briefly show you a

very rare sight, a live picture, and the -- hurricane force winds are rocking the camera back and forth. here we are, 6:44 eastern time. and that is something you don't see often. a desolate times square. again, the island o manhattan, all but shut off. no way in, n way out. not even underground transportation is running, cabs are impossible to find. everyone is, as they say, sheltering in place. we'll take a break, when we come back, we'll check in with lester holt covering the southern end of hurricane sandy tonight. and a dramatic rescue we witnessed today. years ago, my doctor told me to take a centrum silver multivitamin every day. i told him, sure. can't hurt, right? then i heard this news about a multivitamin study looking at long-term health benefits for men over 50. the one they used in that study... centrum silver. that's what i take. my doctor!

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as we take a look at the radar, it has been raining in certain places on the east coast for days. and this just begins phase two of the osteoporosis, we saw the scene in point pleasant beach, new jersey, earlier tonight. it is still raining in north carolina, where this all started up well over 24 hours ago. we should add they don't scare easily along the outer banks of north carolina. lester holt has been covering the southern end of hurricane sandy. he is in elizabeth city tonight. lester, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening, a dramatic rescue at sea today, 16 crew members on board a 180-foot tall ship had

to go over board an abandoned ship when they took on water. two people were missing, late word tonight, one of the people has been found, a woman found unresponsive and flown later to new york city. the ship was on its way to connecticut to florida, trying to steer around the storm when it ran into trouble. >> survivors coming out of the raft. >> reporter: the dramatic video shows the members of the crew jumping into the raft of a coast guard rescue swimmer. the distress call came in last night, the ship had lost power and was taking on water, some two feet an hour. the bounty and her crew were 90 miles off cape hatteras. and then earlier this morning, the 16-member crew were given the order to put on their survival suits and abandon ship. spotted first by a coast guard

c-130, two choppers were launched into the teeth of the winds and low visibility. >> there was a lot of winds, fortunately going out there, there was tail wind, so we got out thereretty quick, even though it was at 180 wind. >> reporter: one was found in the water, the other in a life raft. >> it was like being in a washing machine. you have the waves kind of hitting at you from every single direction. >> reporter: one by one, the bounty's crew were hoisted up into the helicopters. one of the crew members were later hospitalized with a broken arm. the bounty is a replica famous for its mutiny, and was used in the brandon movie. recently, it was used in the pirates of the caribbean "dead man's chest," but nothing could

match this real life drama. >> you could easily see how violent it is, if you don't prepare yourself properly and handle it the way you should, then it could come back to have very drastic consequences. >> reporter: and as we come back live, the sound here behind me is the helicopter just coming back with that other victim that they found floating in the water again, her condition, unresponsive, taken to a hospital. they're continuing to search, brian, for the other missing crew member. >> i'm no expert, but i'm guessing a tall ship had no business in the waters with the approaching storm. lester holt, with the dramatic rectory out of carolina, lester, thank you, we'll take another break, when we come back how all of it has good evening. we'll get back to nightly news

in a moment. we want to get to storm 4 chief meteorologist doug kammerer. >> just looking at the radar signature, it looks like that is now over the delaware bay, came onshore, southern portions of cape may county, making its way back, very close to dover, delaware. winds are 85 miles an hour, moving to the west-northwest at 28 miles an hour. so, it is still steaming on by. as it does this, it will be very close to our region overnight tonight and right on through the day tomorrow. here we are at 3:30 tomorrow afternoon. and this is where it is, in through central portions of pennsylvania. we are going to be on the south side of it. that is going to be the rainy si side, at least, over the next 12 hours and that's what we're seeing out there right now. here is the rain. you notice the dry slot coming in through portions of new jersey, philadelphia where we've seen things go from very bad to no rain at all.

our region continues to see the rain. this is why i see -- this is how i see the eye, right in here. this is the eyewall that's coming on through here. you can see it coming right here and straight across the delaware bay just to the south of dover. i'm waiting for that hurricane center official statement, but this is definite ly making its way onshore right now just to the north of rehoboth beach. we are dealing with probably the strongest bands that we've been dealing with all along, winds gusting 50, 60 miles an hour. we're seeing anywhere between half an inch to an inch to two inches an hour. we'll continue to see that as this band moves through. it's supposed to move up through the baltimore area. as it does that, it's going to pivot this rain around where we are. so we're going to stay in the rain, especially areas down to the south of washington, i think, are going to continue to see that heavy rain. the heaviest rain in through frederick county, right through the d.c. metro area, down into already seen uthern maryland

tremendous amount of rain, upwards of 5" to 10". 52-mile-an-hour wind gusts in washington. 46 in camp springs. annapolis and easton coming in at 41 miles an hour each. high wind warning continues to be in effect, gusts up wards of 70 miles an hour for some areas. we've already seen them to 60 and may get to 70 through the night. 4.5" in the chesapeake bay, 3.5 in washington. as we move through the overnight hours, this is what you can expect hour by hour, heavy rain with gusts 60 miles an hour, heavy rain with damaging winds continuing till about midnight. areas of rain, around 5:00 am, winds 20 to 30, gusts to you're looking live at the white house on what is also a rainy and stormy night in washington. this storm has had a huge effect

beyond just the distraction on the race for president. let's go to our chief white house correspondent political director, chuck todd, who thankfully is in the briefing room in the west wing tonight, away from the elements. >> reporter: yes, good evening, the president actually woke up in orlando, florida, where he was going to do a rally. and when they woke up, they made a decision, no, the president was going to skip that campaign event, get back to air force one and get back to washington, before the weather got worse. came back here, got briefings from his homeland security director, janet napolitano. then he went through everything he learned about the storm, gave a warning to folks about the coastline, and was asked about the event. >> i am not worried about the impact on the election, i'm worried about the impact on the

election, the impact on the first responders, on the economy, and on transportation. you know, the election will -- take care of itself. >> reporter: the reality is, we have got 8 calendar days left before the election, but the president has cancelled all campaign events tonight. and two more campaign events tomorrow. governor romney also cancelled his campaign events tonight. and cancelled alvl the events tomorrow. so we only have at best, six campaign days left, assuming they get back on the trail weapons. >> all right, chuck todd, reporting on the race. thanks, we'll take another break and be back with the latest on this storm. medicare prescription drug plan. ♪ with a low national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar... ♪ ...saving on your medicare prescriptions is easy. ♪ so you're free to focus on the things that really matter. call humana at 1-800-808-4003.

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[ gasps ] ♪ [ male announcer ] get a retirement plan that works at e-trade. we want to take one final look for this half hour at this storm, just now making landfall slightly south of new jersey, and now the next phase begins, hurricane-force winds on the back side. we're talking about the possibility new york city could see 80 miles an hour winds. this is the point we would normally say good night, but we'll keep going for another half hour. if your local nbc station does not air the next half hour, you

can see it on nbcnightly.com, a reminder, they're tracking this 24/7, the coverage will be live streamed on nbcnews.com, on the storm named sandy has now come ashore, wreaking havoc across our area. trees are down. power is out to thousands. but the worst is yet to come. >> live picture of cape may, new jersey, the eye of the storm will come close to making landfall there